Manu Showing RDA How To Play Angry But Under Control

The Husky linebacker had to be reined in as an Arizona freshman.

Jacob Manu talked about the tough side of the game. | Dan Rale

At University of Washington fall football practice, it seems as if there's continually been something that upsets Rylon Dillard-Allen and really rubs him the wrong way.

Angry words exchanged. Players restraining players. Even a stray helmet sent flying across the turf.

In the middle of all this mayhem has been Dillard-Allen, the safety from Phoenix who's known by his initials "RDA" but also by his comic book hero "Batman." He plays perpetually angry, if not more like a super villain.

UW coach Jedd Fisch explains how his second-year defensive back reminds him a lot of Jacob Manu when the latter was a first-year linebacker for him at Arizona doing everything he could to establish himself. Even if it meant repeatedly stepping over the line.

As a scout-team player in Tucson, Manu tried to hit everyone he could in practice -- to the point Fisch made this super aggressive kid a starter just partly to protect his quarterback and the other first-teamers from harm.

Manu sees similarities in himself with Dillard-Allen, now his Husky defensive teammate.

"RDA, he plays with a little edge to him," Manu said. "Sometimes he goes over the edge. That's kind of how it was my freshman year and I kind of chilled out a little bit. We try and control RDA during practice."

For sure, football always has been a violent game. Through the years, the Huskies have had their share of decidedly hot-tempered players losing it between the lines, among them cornerback Marcus Peters, center Olin Kruetz and defensive tackle Steve Emtman.

One of those guys got thrown off the team because of his anger issues. Another broke a teammate's jaw. Yet another won a national championship by letting it all hang out.

Dillard-Allen has been fighting in practice since he first arrived as a freshman in Montlake last year, while Manu transferred in. Teammates and coaches don't want to change the Batman, just tone him down some.

"We kind of talked about it," Manu said. "He understands what he's got to do and how to protect the team. He's been doing a better job on the field."

Jacob Manu consults with a coach during stretching. | Dave Sizer photo

As for Manu, he's a fifth-year player who still gets after it with a lot of intensity but he understands the boundaries that he's trying to instill in the other guy at safety. At least most of them.

"I feel like I try to protect the team as much as I can," Manu said. "Here and there, I have my little mistakes. It happens."